Pool cover arrangement

ABSTRACT

A pool cover arrangement for above-ground swimming pools, in which arrangement a flexible pool cover is disposed over the pool surface with its peripheral edge draped over the exterior sides of the pool, the pool cover being held in position by a line secured under tension about the exterior of the pool and overlying the peripheral edge of the pool cover. Storage straps are secured to a section of the line and are utilized to store the pool cover when it is folded, the cover when stored hanging on the outside of the pool. The tension in the line is such as to permit a roller device to be inserted between the line and the pool walls and moved about the entire perimeter of the pool, facilitating the pool cover being released from or secured by the line.

United States Patent 51 Dec. 26, 1972 Trostler [54] POOL COVER ARRANGEMENT [72] Inventor: Richard M. Trostler, 1730 Wood bend Drive, Claremont, Calif. 91711 [22] Filed: July 14, 1971 [21] App]. No.2 162,547

[52] U.S.Cl ..4/172.14

[51] 1nt.Cl ..E04h 3/16, E04h 3/18 [58] Field of Search....4/172, 172.11, 172.12, 172.14

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,287,740 11/1966 Langer ..4/l72.12

3,293,665 12/1966 Langer .4/172.12

3,344,440 10/1967 Langer .4/172.l2

3,354,472 11/1967 Steinbeck ..4/172.12

3,391,410 7/1968 Melberg ..4/l72.12

Primary Examiner-Henry K. Artis Attorney-Bernard V. Ousley 57 ABSTRACT A pool cover arrangement for above-ground swimming pools, in which arrangement a flexible pool cover is disposed over the pool surface with its peripheral edge draped over the exterior sides of the pool, the pool cover being held in position by a line 5 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures POOL COVER ARRANGEMENT The present invention relates to pool cover arrangements for self-supporting above-ground type of swimming pools, the .type of pool frequently erected by families in their family yards, and which pools can be repeatedly put up and taken down. The usual aboveground pool is aframe type structure of metal, wood, plastic, or the like forming side walls which support and contain a plastic waterproof liner that holds the water. The side walls are substantially vertical and define the pool perimeter.

Prior pool cover arrangements for above-ground swimming pools have proven to be hard to handle by one person, especially during the pool covering operation. Further, the pool cover almost invariably ended up on the ground at some phase of the uncover-storagerecover cycle. This, naturally, permitted the introduction of dirt, grass, leaves, etc. into the pool water from the pool cover. In addition, the time required to use the prior pool cover arrangements has proven discouraging to their users. All these factors have made the prior systems unpopular and have relegated them to minimum usage. This is unfortunate because not only does a proper pool cover arrangement keep dirt and debris out of the water, it also minimizes the loss of, and need for, pool chemicals, it reduces water evaporation, it absorbs heat from solar radiation and helps warm the pool water, it reduces heat loss at night, and minimizes algae growth if the cover is opaque.

The present invention, by contrast, provides a pool cover arrangement that can be easily handled by one person, both during pool cover removal and covering operations. The pool cover when removed is stored right on the outside or exterior wall of the pool, a novel feature, and it never touches the ground at any part of the uncover-storage-recover cycle. And the time required to uncover or recover the pool is drastically reduced over that required by prior systems. Still other advantages will become apparent from the detailed description of the invention and accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an above ground swimming pool with the pool cover arrangement thereon;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the pool with the pool cover in its storage position;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged, partial cross-sectional view of the pool and cover arrangement shown in FIG. 2 and taken along reference line IIIIII thereof;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a roller tool used as an aid in the removal and replacement of the pool cover; and

FIG. 5 is a partial perspective view of the pool showing alternate structure for storage of the pool cover.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows a floating pool cover disposed over and covering a self-supporting swimming pool having supporting frame 11 and side walls 12. The side wall 12 is substantially vertical to the ground on which it rests. Some above ground pools use sheeting material of metal or plastic for the side walls 12. Others merely use the pool liner itself, supported by frame structure 11, as the pool side walls. The pool cover 10 is shaped to cover the pool surface as defined by the pools side walls, with the pool cover 10 having a peripheral portion or edge 13 which, in FIG. 1, extends peripherally beyond the pool side walls. This peripheral edge 13 overlaps and lies adjacent the pool side walls 12.

A line 14 is positioned about the pool side walls over the peripheraledge 13 of the pool cover 10. The line 14 is held in place by being tied, in the position shown, under tension. This line tension holds the pool cover securely in place when it'is spread out to cover the pool. A plurality of storage receptacle straps 15 are, as shown, connected to and disposed along a section of the line 14, which section is referred to herein-as the storage section of line 14 and which is roughly onethird of the length ofline 14. v

Each of the storage receptacle straps, or: storage straps, 15, while connected at one end to line 14, has a free end to which is secured a fastening member,'the preferred embodiment of which is a hook 16 as shown in FIG. 1.

The pool cover 10 is a flexible sheet member made of lightweight weather resistent material such as vinyl or polyethylene materials, well known and commonly used. Most such materials are bouyant and float on the surface of water when laid thereon. The preferred embodiment utilizes an opaque, black, polyethylene sheet with a thickness of6 mil. for the pool cover 10. The line 14 is a rope made of durable weatherproof material such as nylon or polypropylene, commonly available, with the preferred embodiment having a diameter of one-fourth inch, small enough to work with and handle, but not so small that, under tension, it will wear or cut through pool cover 10. The storage straps 15 in the preferred embodiment shown in FIG. 1, are pieces of rope of the same weatherproof material as line l4, but they need not be as large in diameter as line 14.

FIG. 2 shows the present novel pool cover arrangement with the pool cover 10 folded and held on the exterior of the pool side wall by the storage straps 15. In this configuration the hook 16 of each storage strap is fastened or hooked onto line 14. Each strap thus forms a loop which is looped around the folded pool cover.

This is more fully illustrated by the cross-sectional view of FIG. 3, taken along line III-III of FIG. 2. It is seen from FIG. 3 that the portion of the peripheral edge 13 of pool cover 10 that is secured against the pool side walls 12 by the storage section of line 14 is always so secured and held, even when the pool cover 10 is folded and held in storage by storage straps 15. This facilitates the pool recovering operation when the pool cover in taken out of storage. The hooks 16 in the preferred embodiment are noncorrosive and the hook curvature is limited to substantially one-half of a circle, or I, to facilitate easy attachment and removal from line 14, and to insure that there will be no damage to the pool cover 10 or its peripheral edge portion 13.

To facilitate the pool cover removal and recovering operations, the tool 18 shown in FIG. 4 is used. The tool consists of a freely rotatable concave roller 19 mounted on a shaft 20, as shown, with the shaft mounted in a handle 21. A lock nut 22 is disposed on the end of shaft 20 to keep roller 19 on the shaft.

The operation followed in removing the pool cover 10 and storing it is as follows. First the peripheral edge 13 of pool cover 10 is released from the securing grasp of line 14, except along the storage section of line 14. This is done by inserting roller 19, of tool 18, between line 14 and the pool side walls 12. The tension in line 14 must be such as to accommodate this insertion. Then the operator moves tool 18 around the pool perimeter, pulling radially outward on roller 19, which frees the adjacent portion of the pool cover, and the operator with his free hand can then pull the adjacent portion of the pool cover from beneath line 14. in this manner the pool cover is released all about the perimeter of the pool, except along the storage section of line 14. The pool cover is then gathered in an appropriate folded fashion adjacent the storage section of line 14. It is then draped over the top of line 14 at that point as the operator moves from one storage strap 15 to another and loops them about the folded pool cover and fastens hooks 16 onto line 14, which at that point is covered by part of peripheral edge 13 of pool cover 10.

In this fashion the pool cover is hung in storage on the.

exterior of the pool.

The reverse of this procedure is followed to remove the pool cover from storage and cover the pool. The storage straps 15 are removed from the folded pool cover 10 which is draped into the pool in its folded condition as the storage straps are removed. The pool cover 10 is thenvspread out over the pool surface with its peripheral edge 13 overlapping and lying adjacent the exterior of pool side walls 12. The roller tool 18 is then used once again to pull radially outward on line 14 l as the operator tucks peripheral edge 13 beneath line l4, which procedure is carried out around the pool perimeter until the pool cover 10 is entirely secured once again by line 14.

An alternate type of storage receptacle strap is shown in FIG. 5 wherein a rectangular flap is shown connected along one of its lengthwise edges to line 14, with a plurality of hooks 26 connected along its other lengthwise edge. When hooks 26 are hooked onto line 14 the flap 25 forms a storage hammock hanging from line 14, in which the pool cover 10 is securely held when folded and deposited therein.

Although specific embodiments of the present invention have been described and illustrated, it is to be understood that the same are by way of illustration and example, and are not intended as limitations of the present invention, the delineation of which is the purpose of the following claims.

lclaim:

1. A cover arrangement for above ground swimming pools having a pool surface and perimeter defined by substantially vertical side walls extending above ground level, said arrangement comprising a flexible sheet member shaped to cover the surface of said pool and havinga peripheral edge which can extend peripherally beyond, and overlap and lie adjacent, the exterior of the pool side walls, a line member disposed under tension about the exterior of the pool side walls to secure and hold the peripheral edge of said sheet member against the exterior of the pool side walls, storage receptacle strap means secured to said line member having at least one free end with at least one fastening member attached to said free end whereby the sheet member when folded can be hung in storage on the exterior sides of the pool by said storage receptacle strap means being looped around the folded sheet member and said fastening member being fastened onto said line member.

2. The combination defined in claim 1, wherein said storage receptacle strap means comprises a plurality of storage straps connected to and disposed along a storage section of said line member, each said strap having a free end with a hook member fastened thereto, said storage straps forming loops hanging from said line member when said hook members are hooked onto said line member, thereby providing storage means for said sheet member.

3. The combination defined in claim 2, wherein that portion of the peripheral edge of saidjsheet member held against the exterior pool side walls by the storage section of said line member remains so held when the sheet member is stored in said storage straps and when it is extended to cover the pool.

4. The combination defined in claim 2, wherein the tension in said line member permits a roller device to be inserted between said line member and the pool side walls and, in that position, moved about the entire perimeter of the pool thereby facilitating the sheetmember being released or secured by said line member.

5. The combination defined in claim 1, wherein said storage receptacle strap means comprises a substantially rectangular flap having first and second long edges opposite each other, and two short or end edges, said flap being connected along its first long edge to said line member so as to hang therefrom, a plurality of hook members attached to and disposed along the second long edge, said flap forming a storage hammock hanging from said line member when said hook members are hooked onto said line member, thereby providing storage means for said sheet member.

lOGOl 2 0006 

1. A cover arrangement for above ground swimming pools having a pool surface and perimeter defined by substantially vertical side walls extending above ground level, said arrangement comprising a flexible sheet member shaped to cover the surface of said pool and having a peripheral edge which can extend peripherally beyond, and overlap and lie adjacent, the exterior of the pool side walls, a line member disposed under tension about the exterior of the pool side walls to secure and hold the peripheral edge of said sheet member against the exterior of the pool side walls, storage receptacle strap means secured to said line member having at least one free end with at least one fastening member attached to said free end whereby the sheet member when folded can be hung in storage on the exterior sides of the pool by said storage receptacle strap means being looped around the folded sheet member and said fastening member being fastened onto said line member.
 2. The combination defined in claim 1, wherein said storage receptacle strap means comprises a plurality of storage straps connected to and disposed along a storage section of said line member, each said strap having a free end with a hook member fastened thereto, said storage straps forming loops hanging from said line member when said hook members are hooked onto said line member, thereby providing storage means for said sheet member.
 3. The combination defined in claim 2, wherein that portion of the peripheral edge of said sheet member held against the exterior pool side walls by the storage section of said line member remains so held when the sheet member is stored in saId storage straps and when it is extended to cover the pool.
 4. The combination defined in claim 2, wherein the tension in said line member permits a roller device to be inserted between said line member and the pool side walls and, in that position, moved about the entire perimeter of the pool thereby facilitating the sheet member being released or secured by said line member.
 5. The combination defined in claim 1, wherein said storage receptacle strap means comprises a substantially rectangular flap having first and second long edges opposite each other, and two short or end edges, said flap being connected along its first long edge to said line member so as to hang therefrom, a plurality of hook members attached to and disposed along the second long edge, said flap forming a storage hammock hanging from said line member when said hook members are hooked onto said line member, thereby providing storage means for said sheet member. 